A/N: Woah, this one is a longer one. Sorry, sorry, SORRY it's been so long. I'm terrible at this. If you seem confused by anything that comes up, maybe go back and read the last two chapters. I made some really small changes that will be necessary to the story later, sooo... enjoy!

Chapter 4

The next week passed in a similar manner, with me spending a lot of the day sitting around watching TV or baking cookies or muffins. Steve was in and out, often doing Avengers things or whatever, but he was there nearly every evening. We would always eat dinner and watch a movie together on the evenings when Steve wasn't busy. I settled into it pretty easily, and as Steve got used to having a roommate, I got used to having a friend.

One morning, about a week and a half after I had come to the the Avengers tower, I woke up and went into the main room, surprised to see Natasha dressed and sitting on the couch. She jumped up when she saw me.

"Good morning, darling. Sorry to spring this on you, but I figured we'd go shopping today since your wardrobe is pretty… depleted. I just made breakfast, go ahead and eat and then you can get dressed."

I followed Natasha's instructions, first eating a plate of pancakes, bacon and eggs and then getting dressed in jeans, a sweater and my Converse and pulling my hair up. I put on a minimal amount of makeup, grabbed my phone and coat and left the room. I walked back into the main room to see Natasha talking to a very sleepy-looking Steve.

"Ah! You're ready!" Natasha said as soon as she saw me. She then turned to Steve. "Like I said, I made some breakfast for you and it's on the counter. We'll probably be gone for eight hours at the most." She turned back to me. "Are you ready?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Good." She said, turning to leave. I waved goodbye to Steve and followed Natasha out.

We met Wanda Maximoff downstairs. Introductions were made and our small party of three got into a car. We rode to the huge Macy's in Herald Square and proceeded to spend the next eight hours filling up my closet. We bought so much stuff our driver had to pull up the car in front of the store and help us load up the car. Despite how long the trip was, I really enjoyed hanging out with Natasha (who had assured me to just call her Nat) and Wanda. It took a good 30 minutes once we got back for me to carefully unpack and sort all my new clothes. My favorite purchases were a pair of white high top Converse and a pair of bright blue ankle Converse to add to my black ankle pair, a black and white striped cashmere sweater and a tan winter coat with a soft lining and furry cuffs around the wrists and neck. Once all my clothes were sorted and put away, I plopped down on the bed with a loud sigh.

"Wow. This room is a disaster."

I gave Steve an indifferent look from my bed.

"Just saying! I take it your trip was successful?"

I held up and thumbs up and Steve laughed. "Huh, they tired you out today, didn't they? Do you wanna come get something to eat?"

In response, I pulled myself up and got off my bed. I followed Steve into the kitchen where we ate some lasagna. After getting some food, a felt a bit better, but still really tired. Steve recommended I go to bed early, to which I nodded and turned to go into my room.

Throughout the next month and a half, I found out things like how competitive Clint is at Mario Kart (really effing competitive), how much Thor knows about modern technology (actually nothing), and how long I could binge watch a show without stopping (17 hours non-stop is a lot). I met Vision and Bruce and I hung out with the team a lot and went on lots of outings with Nat and Wanda. I also grew particularly close to Steve, trusting him more and more and enjoying his company more and more. I began to loosen up around him and all the other Avengers more, and I noticed that for the first time in years, I had friends.

Additionally, Steve, Clint, Nat and a small group of Level 7 agents were spending as much time as they could looking into me and why Hydra wanted me. Despite all the work they were putting into it, there hadn't been any breakthroughs. We still had no clue why I was wanted by Hydra.

October left and November came and Nat talked me into working out with her, three days a week. It was hard at first, but once I got used to it, I really began to love working out and would go down to the gym nearly every morning. I was really enjoying myself and my new life at the Avengers Tower.

Before I knew it, November was coming to a close and December was sneaking in. It was getting much colder outside and a festive energy was beginning to take hold of New York City, especially with news of the annual Stark Industries Christmas Party. It was an event where women wore elegant ball gowns and men full tuxedos, and the richest billionaires and business men and women came from all over the country. The event only tended to have 150-200 people, and paparazzi were kept outside. All twenty-something women dreamed of going, and I was no exception.

Except for this year that dream was becoming a reality. I was called up to Pepper's office one day in late November and given the fanciest, most elegant invitation I had ever received. Nat came to see me later and told me she had already booked an appointment at her favorite boutique to have our dresses made.

When the day of our appointment came, I was so excited I could scarcely stand still long enough for them to get my measurements. I had decided on a strapless sky blue gown with the bodice decorated with silvery accents and a beautiful satin skirt. Natasha then took me to another boutique that specialized in shoes and helped me pick out an amazing pair of silver heels that were so comfortable I could probably dance all night in them.

In all the preparations for the ball, I had almost forgotten about the reason I was even here in the first place. That is, until Steve brought it up at dinner.

"We had a bit of a breakthrough today." He said. I cocked my head, and he continued. "It's a bit of a small breakthrough, but we think that there's a Hydra facility in Houston. If we can get an exact location on it, we may be able to infiltrate it and find a higher up who would know something about you."

I set down my fork. "I really don't know if that's good news or bad news."

Steve frowned. "I suppose it is a bit of both."

I nod, and just like that, the conversation is over.

The day of the ball approaches, and I go to Clint and Nat's floor to get ready. Nat and I help each other get dressed, apply our makeup, do each other's hair and make sure we're all ready to go. I then present Nat to Clint, who's jaw drops and is dumbfounded by how amazing she looks. He grabs her to kiss her, and I turn away, chuckling softly.

Nat and Clint make an amazing picture, Nat in her flowing red and black gown and Clint in a black suit and a red dress shirt. Clint offers me his arm, and we go downstairs to the waiting limo.

The ride to the venue takes about ten minutes. Once we are there, security checks our invitations and allows us in and we go to our assigned seats for the formal sit-down dinner. I'm at a table with Nat, Clint, an elderly couple who tell me about how they've been attending these balls since the first one Howard Stark ever hosted and a young billionaire who's staring was really starting to bother me. I turn and mention it to Nat, who in turn tells Clint. Clint stares at the guy every time he looks at me, and eventually, the guy stops.

The dinner takes about an hour and a half. Once it finishes, waiters come to take up our dishes and the band begins to play. The guy from the table heads my way, but Clint gives him a glare that could peel paint and he slinks off. Clint winks at me and I smile as he leads Natasha to the dance floor. The old couple gets up to dance, leaving me alone.

I decide to try the bar. Even though I don't drink, Nat told me the bartenders Tony hired can make a mean mocktail. I head that way, but I'm so preoccupied with my own thoughts that I slam right into someone.

"I'm so sorry!" I exclaim as the man turns around. Except for it isn't just anyone.

It's Steve.

"Stephanie?" I can see the shock written all over his face.

"I'm so sorry Steve, I just wasn't looking where I was going and I didn't mean…" Steve holds up a hand, quieting me, and smiles.

"No, it's quite okay, I just…" His voice dwindles off as he gazes up and down my body, taking in my form. I take this as an advantage to look at him. Someone, probably Nat, must have encouraged his dress for the night, because he wears a black tux, a sky blue shirt that just happens to match my dress and a silver and black tie.

Just as his starring begins to feel slightly uncomfortable, he shakes his head.

"I am so sorry, Stephanie. I'm being a jerk. Do you want to dance?"

"Sure." Steve grins and takes my hand, escorting me to the dance floor. Throughout the dance I am extremely aware of his hand tracing patterns on my back and slowly drawing me closer. I look up at his face and feel a feeling like nothing I have ever felt before.

Kiss him!

No, what if he doesn't return your feelings?

Clearly he returns your feelings! Didn't you see the lust when he first saw you here?

Yeah, still…

And so my thoughts continue all through the night, yet Steve seems to always be there, touching me in some sort of way, whether that's caressing my arm, playing with my hair or massaging my shoulders. As we had gotten closer with our friendship, he began to touch me more and more, but now he seems emboldened.

I do have a great night. I have some exceptional mocktails and I meet some women who are a lot like Pepper, all very nice and generous, but also quite business orientated, and any time a playboy swooped down on me, Steve Possessive Rogers was there, giving the man a warning glare before we would go dance to a few songs. All in all, it was pretty great, but I couldn't ignore the possessiveness and lust coming from Steve that intensified through the night.

By three in the morning, there were only a handful of people still there. Clint took a look out the window and, upon seeing our limo, called to Nat, Sam, Steve and I. I grabbed Steve's hand and pulled him out into the cold December night and into our limo. Clint helped Nat in first, then hopped in himself. I giggled a bit as I climbed in, tugging Steve in after me. Sam chuckled softly as he climbed in last, shutting the door behind him. I settled down in the seat, nustling my head in the crook of Steve's neck.

It didn't take long for our limo to reach the Avengers Tower and pull into the underground garage. Sam hopped out first, followed by Steve, who offered a hand to help me out. Clint and Nat stumbled out last, and our small party of five headed to the elevator.

The elevator reached mine and Steve's floor first. I grabbed his hand and pulled him out. I turned and waved to Nat, Clint and Sam. They each waved back, and I turned down the hall and opened the door. I stepped inside and immediately headed to the kitchen to get a drink of water. I heard Steve close the door behind him as I grabbed a glass from the cupboard and filled it up with some water. I drained the glass quickly and went back out into the living room, where my eyes were immediately drawn to Steve.

I could see the desire in his expression as he came over to me. He placed his hands on my bare arms, raising goosebumps on contact. I stared up into those beautiful blue eyes and gulped.

"Kiss me." I stared up at Steve, overcome by the intense desire to kiss him, to taste him.

His eyes glazed over, but I barely noticed as he leaned down to kiss me, and as his lips touched mine, the entire world vanished.

His hands find my waist, pulling me closer to him. One hand travels up my back, traveling into my hair. He pulls the pins out of my hair and runs his hand through my messy curls. Gosh, his lips are so soft and tender as he just kisses me like nothing else matters. His tongue runs across my teeth, and I open my mouth, allowing our tongues to make contact. He groans against my mouth, and it is honestly the most beautiful sound I have ever heard.

His fingers dig in tight to my back, and the thought crosses my mind that I'll probably have bruises in the morning, but it is quickly gone. It's my turn to groan, and it only causes him to hold me tighter, crushing my lips against his and mimicking my mewls of delight.

When we finally separated for air, we don't dare go further than allowing our noses to touch. Our breath mingles in the small space between our mouths, and I find myself drawn to the little beautiful things, like how amazing the rising and falling of Steve's chest is. He takes an arm and pulls me into his chest, nuzzling his face in my hair.

"You don't realize how long I've wanted to do that, Stephanie," he murmurs into my hair. My name sounds sacred, like a prayer on his lips, and I just want to kiss him again.

"You are so beautiful, so amazing, so strong. When I first saw you, I just wanted to protect you, but now I can tell, you can hold your own out pretty dang well." I look up to his face, and his features reflect so much adoration, I feel a lump rising in my throat. I want to say something, to convince him I return his feelings, and then more, but all my words seem to have left me.

Fortunately, they say actions speak louder than words, and I bring my lips to meet his once again.

A/N: Oooooh, what do you think? I loved writing this chapter, and I can't wait for y'all to see this relationship further. Eeeeee!